When moving into a new C-level role, Allspring CEO Kate Burke's first step is to recognize she has the least subject matter expertise. She leads with inquiry, not answers, to learn from her team. This builds trust and allows her to focus on her strengths: strategic focus and execution.

To build immediate trust, Gryphon Investors kicks off portfolio company relationships with a "touchy-feely" session. Using personality assessments, the most senior Gryphon partner must share their own development plans and weaknesses, disarming the new management team and setting a tone of vulnerability and authenticity.

Radically changing a large company's culture is a decade-long endeavor. A faster, more effective approach is to identify the organization's existing positive cultural DNA. The UniCredit CEO interviewed over 20,000 employees to find their core values, then built his transformation strategy to amplify those strengths.

Before officially starting as CEO, Nicolai Tangen interviewed 140 employees with a single prompt: 'What's on your mind?' After about 70 conversations, clear patterns emerged, revealing the three most critical priorities for the organization. This process provides an unfiltered diagnostic and builds early trust.

Rituals like 'Waffle Wednesday' were not top-down mandates but organic traditions that fostered a family-like culture. This powerful culture became a self-correcting mechanism, quickly identifying and rejecting new hires who were selfish or not team players, often before management even noticed a problem.

Culture isn't created by top-down declarations. It emerges from the informal stories employees share with each other before meetings or at lunch. These narratives establish community norms and create "shared wisdom" that dictates behavior far more effectively than any official communication from leadership.

Sequoia frames leadership changes not as takeovers but as "intergenerational transfers" of stewardship. This cultural focus on leaving the firm better than they found it is key to its longevity and successful transitions, a model for any long-term partnership.

To build alliances with C-suite peers like the CFO, a new executive should act as a 'servant leader.' Instead of asserting authority, frame your function's role as being in service of their agenda. Asking "how can we make your life easier?" builds trust and collaboration from day one.

With 150 years of mostly internal CEO succession, Eli Lilly develops leaders who deeply understand the company's culture—its 'unspoken operating system.' This allows them to solve problems effectively without relying on formal committees.